Allure
by Tara.B Amy
Summary: AU yy x y Yuugi has no home but an empty, deserted house after his grandfather's death. Since nobody knows he still lives there on his own, a group has come to frequently throw parties there. What is he to do? Will he get caught by them?
1. Yami

Allure  
  
Hey, there! I have a new story!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!. If I did, everyone would be out to get me O.o I'll tell you something. It would be worth it.  
  
I won't babble more than necessary. But one thing is important,  
  
Yami will be called by his real name: Atemu.  
  
'Yami' is just the name they tell you in the dubbed American version. The Japanese version doesn't have any name for him until the moment he discovers the real one. He is called 'aibou' (= partner) or 'Mou hitori no boku' (= the other me) by Yuugi. The others say something like 'The other Yuugi'.  
  
Well, so I'll call him Atemu. But don't worry. The dubbed name will show up, too. And one more thing. I'll also use the original names for the others. It will be Anzu, not Téa. I hope you have no problem with that and recognise everyone.  
  
I'll have switching POV's. ¬.¬ Now you know everything. I think.  
  
Enjoy reading!   
  
Yuugi's POV   
  
Sometimes he just wanted to be part of it. Wanted to adapt to their aura of dark, sinful intensity. Wanted to move in their slow motioned swirl of perfection like them. Wanted to be able to show everything and at the same time be untouchable. Irresistible, but oh, so far away. Skin glistering in the flashing lights, tempting anyone to touch, though at the same time forbidden territory.  
  
He wanted to be alluring, enticing, promising. But then he didn't want to be involved. He wanted to be able to walk away unfazed by his surroundings. Touch them without being touched. Be craved but never reached. A distant and desired jewel.  
  
Like He was.  
  
Yuugi retreated from his hiding spot and sat down on his improvised bed. Through the hole in the wooden floor he could look down into the normally empty hall. Well, normally. Not today, because the exceptions were those days -they- came. When -they- decided to throw a party in -his- house. But he couldn't possibly go down and claim this cold, dirty place his own. He was only a boy after all and he was alone. Never could he stand a chance against them. And honestly. It wasn't worth it. Rotten, old, slowly falling apart. Not worth a fight. But his only place to live.  
  
He tried to shut the loud music out and cuddled into the thin sheet of the makeshift bed, hoping they wouldn't find him here. He was frightened. He had registered their arrival too late this time. They were inside of the house before he had been able to flee. And now he was stuck with them dancing and drinking alcohol or taking drugs downstairs. He had watched them for a while now, but that alone had his head spinning. What chance did he have of them NOT coming upstairs? One of them would certainly find his or her way up the stairs. And then he couldn't hide. The sheet was his only shield against the intruders. Hopefully they would just go away. Hopefully so.  
  
'Please, make them go away.' he pleaded silently. 'Especially him.'  
  
His gaze shifted to the hole in the wood again and he couldn't resist the urge to crawl over again. Maybe it was the music, he thought. Only on rare occasions was he able to hear any music at all. The heavy beat of this kind of music had been unfamiliar at first, but he somehow had grown accustomed to it, the more often the group decided to have parties here, outside the city. It was a perfect place for them and so their visits were frequently. And he had caught himself more then once watching them and listening. It reminded him of the cheap music videos he sometimes had watched on TV, back the time as he had lived together with his grandfather above the game shop. Before he had died all of the sudden and everything had broken apart.  
  
Yuugi sighed, trying to find -him- in the crowd. He was easily spotted. The crown of black and reddish-tinted hair almost demanded to be seen. His black leather outfit didn't help that a bit. The boy's back faced him and he wasn't dancing like before. His stance was tall and proud though. Aloof.  
  
'Turn around.', he thought, his eyes roaming the gorgeous figure. He wanted to see his face again. He remembered the boy dancing like he was in trance, practically floating in the music, dark crimson eyes half lidded and fixed on something distant. It had made him feel all warm inside. He wanted to see him do that again, just to proof it was real.  
  
'Yami.' he thought warily. That was the name he had chosen for the boy. 'Darkness.' It seemed fitting. Of cause, it wasn't his real name, but it had been the first word shooting through his mind the moment he had found him.  
  
Someone approached the dark creature from behind and stepped beside him. Yami didn't flinch nor gave he any sign of acknowledgement. The blonde beside him seemed to be enraged, Yuugi could tell that from his gestures and rapid movements. It didn't seem to impress the other boy in any way at first, but then he suddenly whirled around to face the blonde, ruby red eyes flashing in the light. Yuugi gasped for breath at the sight but couldn't avert his gaze.  
  
"Beautiful..." he whispered, thrilled by the warmth that spread over him like a wave.  
  
But it looked like he wasn't the only one unable to move. The blonde shrunk a little bit under Yami's glare and as the boy turned around to leave he didn't hold him back, just continuing staring into empty space. Yuugi wondered how Yami had done that. It had been just one simple look and the blonde was crushed. Certainly odd, but it made him even more appealing. He followed Yami with his eyes until he couldn't see him anymore, because he turned around a corner. And that meant...  
  
All blood left Yuugi's face. Yami was going to come up the stairs. No.  
  
He spun around and listened, staring at the closed door, but the music was too loud and he couldn't hear a single sound of footsteps. Panicking Yuugi searched for a place to hide. Nothing. He had known that before. The only thing in this room was his bed. Maybe if he hid behind the door. Maybe Yami wouldn't even open the door. And if he did... perhaps he would just go away. There was nothing in here. Nothing at all. He stood up shaking, wrapping the blanket tighter around himself and pressed himself into the corner of the room behind the door. And then he waited.  
  
Atemu's POV   
  
He loved the way he blended with the crowd and at the same time stood out like a black bird among a bunch of white ones. Empty shells they were, moving figures barely clad in clothes and showing more skin than they hid.  
  
It was his life to be a leader to them. Those helpless people, who had no clue about the shit they were doing. Poor ones. He didn't belong to them, he was part of them.  
  
Contradicting?  
  
Well, that was his life. There was no clear path to be chosen. He took just a little bit of everything.  
  
Illogical? Plain impossible?  
  
It was his choice to choose and he chose to make the impossible possible. He knew where to go! Sounded weird? Now, who said he was honest with himself?  
  
Jounouchi had pissed him off dearly.  
  
Atemu grumbled lowly in his throat. One word more and he would have had a fit. And that never meant something good, rarely as it happened.  
  
He wasn't a person to be pushed. He hated to be forced into doing something he didn't want. And most of the time he got what he wanted.  
  
Jou had pushed his buttons this evening and he needed to be alone now, so he could cool off a little bit before he did something he would regret later. He pushed a heavy curtain aside, which revealed a flight of stairs. Surprised to never have noticed them before he climbed them up until he reached the top. His crimson eyes scanned over the dirty walls of the hallway. There were a couple of doors, all open but one. And that particular one immediately caught his attention. Had it been open like the others he possibly would have ignored it and just sat down at one of the high windows, which didn't let the moonlight through anymore, because the glass was too dirty with dust and something greasy.  
  
So he let his feet glide over to the object of his momentary interest. Closed doors had always been calling out for him. It was something he couldn't fight. A closed door was hiding something. It promised to reveal a secret. He never could resist a closed door. Well, most of the time. But he at least found himself with the urge to open it, even if he didn't do it. It was an unnerving obsession. But better than to be obsessed with ice cubes, he figured. Poor Malik. Ice cubes were cold and melted. What was so interesting about them?  
  
He stopped his wondering as he slid his hand over the doorknob. What a thrilling moment. He had no idea what to expect. Maybe just an empty room. But perhaps there was more to it.  
  
Slowly he opened the door and peaked inside. And promptly felt disappointed. The room was empty indeed. The moonlight lit up the floor nicely, shining onto a dirty mattress. What had he expected? The house was deserted for a long time now. There was nothing to find.  
  
He stepped back to leave, pouting slightly. He only did that, when there was no one to see it. He liked his childish side, but it was a weakness if shown. And he also didn't want to bury it forever.  
  
Atemu turned around and walked back to the high window, trying to look through the glass, but the thick layer on it made it impossible. The hallway was much darker than the room he just left. There the moonlight...  
  
It hit him. The moonlight! There had been moonlight, which meant the windows had been clean. His crimson eyes widened with the realisation and he hurried back like an eager child. Maybe there was something to reveal after all, he thought with a hidden smile of curiosity and excite. He was going to find something -big- this evening. He just knew it.  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
What do you think? There will be some humour and Yami/Atemu is going to be very OOC like you already noticed. I'm sorry about that.  
  
No more ranting for now. Until next chapter runs off 


	2. Lost Child

Phew, here you are, here you are!! I sat down and continued it, because so many people wanted me to.And it was really hard for me because I was stuck on a scene for a long time. The first to guess right which it was gets a cookie. Just a joke. (grins)

Enjoy the short chapter and tell me if you liked it. I don't (sigh)

Yuugi's POV 

Hot and cold chills of fright were coursing through his veins. It was something he really hated. It made his skin tingle and his palms sweat, his heart race and his body stiffen. Fright was like an electric shock. It made him freeze to the spot and every single hair on his body stand. It made shivers run up his spine, slowly crawling up his neck, reaching each and every tip and toe.

The moment the door opened, the last bits of hope Yuugi had held onto, died away and were replaced with some sort of thick tension. Yami was there. Near him. He was sure, yes, he could actually feel it.

'Please go away.', he pleaded, swallowing a fearful whimper as the door hit his leg slightly. 'Just go away.'

He felt like frozen throughout the following minute. The urge to run and hide somewhere was tempting, but where could he possibly have run to? There was no way out but the door or the hole in the floor. Yuugi bit his lip until it hurt to distract himself from the current situation, eyes closed tightly. His attempts didn't work though. His senses seemed to reach out and catch every sound that was not swallowed by the loud music. He even could hear his own heartbeat, the blood pounding heavily against his ears since his pulse had quickened.

Was he still standing there? Or did he go by now? Yuugi wasn't so sure anymore all of the sudden. He wanted to go and look, then flee if he could. But the possibility that Yami was there made him stay. He wasn't foolish enough to run right into him. And he couldn't get out anyway or he would have been gone long hours ago. So why bother to even check? He would wait until they were gone and then everything would be fine again.

The panic faded slowly and Yuugi sighed tiredly. If Yami had had the intention to come in he would have done so already, right? It was dumb of him to think he stood there all the time waiting. Really, why would he?

At that thought relief flooded through him and he let himself sink back against the wall, his whole body relaxing. That had been close. He didn't want to imagine what someone like Yami would have done to him if he found him. Yawning Yuugi let himself fall into a more comfortable position on the floor and pulled his knees to his chest, in a simple attempt to safe warmth. Now that the fright had left him, he felt how cold it was in the house and his clothes and the old blanket weren't very helpful either. Shivering slightly he let his eyes fall closed and concentrated on the feeling of the tension leaving him completely. Now the only thing he could do was wait. He only hoped not to catch a cold.

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Atemu's POV

He hesitated slightly at the still open door. He had been right. The window was almost clean. It looked as if someone had wiped off the dirt in the middle and let the edges as they were. Someone had been here obviously.

Atemu strolled into the room slowly and looked around. Who would come here of all places? Not only was the whole room full of dust and dirt, but also was the floor damaged to the point of making it able to look down to the first floor, where his companions were. He narrowed his eyes as another realisation hit him. The dust on the floor was stirred. Indeed someone had been here not long ago. He estimated it to be a time span of a few hours, not more, because if it had been longer there would have been a new layer of dust. Now that was something he didn't expect to find. Did someone spy on them? It couldn't have been one of his folks, he thought. Someone had slept here, for there was no dust on the mattress on the floor and it looked as if it was regularly used.

He furrowed his brows in alarm. He would have to keep an eye on that, he mused. He turned around to leave as his foot connected with something small and hard. He stopped and watched the thing slide over the floor until it hit the opposite wall outside the room. He slowly walked over to it and bent down. His fingers touched the cold metal of a silver pendant and he took it into his hand carefully. It was one of those one could open, he figured, and curiously did so. His eyes fell onto the faded picture of a woman, brunette hair and smiling lovingly. Beside the picture a note in delicate handwriting said 'To my son Yuugi'. Atemu almost regretted opening the pendant. He felt like disturbing something private. He hurried to close it and instead looked at the delicate carving on the back. He had to concentrate to recognise it though, because it was very worn away. A dove was shown there, spreading its wings to fly away, a letter tied to its leg.

Sighing he closed his fingers around the metal. He decided to keep it until he had found the person it belonged to. He also had a few questions that needed to be answered. Someone constantly spied on them and he wanted to know why. Grinning slightly, he slipped the pendant into his pocket and left down the stairs. Now he definitely felt better than before he had come up here. Something was going to happen soon, he just felt it and he welcomed the sensation of it very much. He needed something new. Something to wake him from the routine.

"Yuugi," he murmured, his eyes flashing with dark delight. "I'm going to find you, whoever you are."

"Hey, Atemu!" Honda, a friend of his, called out as soon as he reached to bottom of the stairs. His voice was slurred and his eyes shone in drunken carelessness. "There you are, bud! Have I introduced this l-lovely girl to you?"

"Yes, two times already." Atemu sighed, nodding in a greeting manner to the girl, who seemed to be too drunken to even notice that. She just giggled, pulling her boyfriend for the evening away with her.

He definitely needed a change in his life, he mused, reaching out to the pendant in his pocket automatically. It was about time.

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Yuugi's POV:

Yuugi shifted uncomfortably. If he kept on sitting here he was _sure_ to catch cold. He needed to stand up and get his limbs warm again. In addition to that his back hurt and the floor was hard. Yami couldn't possibly be there still after the two hours which had passed.

Stiffly he stood up, ready to bolt any time and stretched his legs and arms carefully. He looked around and found the room empty. Of course it was. He smiled in utter relief. Yami had other things to do than to stand here alone all the time. He had friends downstairs and a party to enjoy. Then he would go home and lie down in a warm, cosy bed, forgetting this old, dirty place... Oh, yes, he was envious. He wished he could exchange his life with Yami's.

The relieved smile had faded throughout his last thought. He missed his old life and his parents and his grandfather. He even missed the orphanage. But no. He would never go back there. He didn't belong there. He would rather freeze to death in this old house than go back to the orphanage like a lost child. He wasn't lost.

"Or am I?,", he murmured to himself, looking at his small, dirty hands. "Am I making myself a lost child?"

He couldn't hear his own voice over the loud music.

"No, I'm not." He balled his fists, until his nails dug into the skin of his palms carefully. Again he couldn't hear his voice, but he wasn't about to scream in fear of the teens celebrating downstairs.

He was making himself a lost one. As soon as he would step out of the darkness, no one was going to recognise him. He was indeed lost, thought of as dead, long since buried, a ghost in an empty house. He stared down at his fists in terror. The years were too many already. How old was he? He had never even thought about it, too occupied with his struggle to get something to eat or to not freeze through cold nights. The memories of his grandpa and his parents felt so near, but they couldn't be. He had been almost fifteen the time he had left the orphanage during the fire. There had been two winters... He couldn't be a child anymore, but he felt like one.

"Mother, mother, where are you," he asked into the crushing loudness. He searched for his pendant, wanted to see her smiling face, see how it had been back then as if he could forget it somehow, but it was nowhere to be found. His pockets were empty. Seemingly he had lost it somewhere here. Worriedly he crawled out of his hiding spot and looked everywhere, even under all the dust on the floor, but to no avail. His pendant was gone.

Hid pendant was gone. Gone.

"No," he whispered in shock. Now even his mother had left him. He sat down on the grey old mattress and stared blankly at the wall. Then he closed his eyes tightly, forcing the self-pity away. He had to stop thinking in that direction. He had never dared to do that, always concentrating on the present, not on the past and not on the future. He had to do something. Sitting here and waiting for the people to leave was not good for him. He never sat around uselessly. His pendant had to be somewhere. He stood up and went on searching, though he already had looked everywhere.

It had to be somewhere.

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Atemu's POV:

„Yo, Atemu, drink something!" Honda grinned drunkenly. „You look a lot happier than... ever." He giggled inopportunely.

„Well, and you look like hell."Atemu told his friend, pointing at the stains of lipstick and something undefinable, as well as the ruined hair and clothes.

„Oh, thanks."Honda smiled brightly as if he had been complimented. Atemu just rolled his eyes and took a sip of the drink Honda gave him. Just then a flash of movement from above made him stop in his tracks. The glass almost slipped from his hand. There was a hole in the ceiling. He knew that hole. Someone was up there in the room with the mattress.

No one had gone upstairs since he had come back down, he knew that much, because he had been observing carefully.

„What is it?"Honda asked and blinked confusedly as he was given back the glass wordlessly and Atemu vanished with an excited glint in his eyes and one last whisper on his lips.

„Did he just say ‚game'?"Honda wondered, downing the drink without a second thought. „He really is a strange guy."He swayed slightly, his look following Atemu until he was swallowed by the masses of teenagers. „Weirdo."

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To be continued...(?)

Well, that was it for now. Did you like it?

Thanks to all the reviewers!! Though I personally don't like the story this much (it was a fling of the moment, I should have made it a One-shot, I think) I am very happy about the reviews. Therefore I sat down to do this. Maybe I'll continue it, we'll see.


	3. Caught

Well, people, I'm back with another chapter to this story (sighs) I'm still not very happy with this story, but you still seem to like it, so there has to be something special about it – something I can't see. Add to that the fact that I hate abandoning my stories and you get my reasons to do this.

This also is the longest chapter I ever produced for this story (the other chapters were around three or four pages, which I'm ashamed of). This one is a bit longer – well, if you put the first and the second chapter together, you get the amount of the third.

Enjoy!

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Yuugi's POV:

He paced the room nervously, trying not to let the confused feelings get control over him. He didn't want to cry, he just wanted to go on, to do something that was able to make him forget about his loss.

His mother really had left him. Finally she had had enough of him. Her smiling face on the picture in the pendant... how often had he stared at it in the middle of the night, unable to sleep. How often had he turned it over in the pale moonlight, let his thumb slide over the dove on its back... the silver flashing in the dim light... it always had comforted him to hold it in his hand. It was a sign of his existence, something showing him he still had a life, something telling him that his past hadn't been a mere dream.

He had been a boy like every other, hadn't he?

But now?

"What am I now?"

The question wasn't answered, just swallowed by the loud music. But his heart granted the answer anyway.

He was a nobody. A lost child. Dead to the world.

He stopped in his tracks, looking around, looking at the blank walls, stripped of all life. He remembered... there had been a small comforter standing at the right wall. A comforter with framed photos everywhere on it. His grandpa had loved putting pictures in every room in this house.

But where were they now? What had the other people done with them after his grandfather's death, after he himself had been put to the orphanage? Had they all been destroyed, killed?

Killed like his parents...?

Yuugi stared up at the window, trying to suppress the despair dwelling in the pit of his stomach. The moon shone bright as ever, but it made him feel even worse... like being in a dark hole, a dark abyss, looking up at the light above, the only flicker of hope and freedom.

What if he opened it?

It had never occurred to him to do so. The overhead window was in his reach... he just wished it wasn't so cold. He shivered involuntary. He wanted back to his blanket, but he knew the only way to force the unwelcome thoughts away was to occupy himself with something.

Yuugi stretched, standing on the tips of his toes and reached up to the window. His clam fingers pulled it open carefully, dust snowing down on him. Immediately a cold wind clashed into him, easily reaching his skin through the thin, battered clothes. He flinched back from the icy sensation and tried to shield himself with his arms.

It was much too cold. He knew he should have expected that. After all it was still winter. His breath clouded in front of his mouth the moment it left him as he reached up again to close the window.

Before his hands touched the wood though, a noise not coming from downstairs, nor himself, made him freeze. He knew that noise. It was the old door, its hinges screeching because of the lack of oil. His eyes widened in horror. He turned his head to look over his shoulder, his arms slowly sinking back down to his sides.

There stood Yami.

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Atemu's POV:

He grinned to himself slightly as he reached to top of the stairs again. There was definitely something off here and he knew he was about to find out what it was. The old excitement he had felt as a child when exploring his surroundings, tickled under his skin like electricity. He felt like crawling through the woods again, on the way to finding something big that never had been there. Only that now he knew there was something to find. The hand in his pocket closed around the pendant.

Just as he was on his way over to the door, a cold gust of wind swirled through the dusty corridor, catching him by surprise as it hit him. He shivered, the warmth of all the people downstairs still having been holding him comfortably warm until now.

With narrowed eyes he hurried over to the door and shoved it farther open and, upon doing that, immediately spotting the person he had thought he had seen a glimpse of downstairs.

The boy at the window froze the moment he entered, surely having heard the loud sound the door had emitted over the music. Wide amethyst eyes were turned to him, shock and fear flaring up in their depths.

Atemu stood still, watching the young teenager curiously from his spot at the door. He looked oddly thin, like not having eaten anything in a long time and his clothes hung from his body like grey, tattered rags. His eyes wandered up to the shadowed face. Even in the dim light he could see the smeared dirt on the boy's face and the ruffled, unkempt hair, which didn't look like having been treated with a comb ever.

He didn't know what to say. The boy didn't look like a spy, but rather like a homeless child. What was he supposed to say or do then? He never had been confronted with something akin to that.

The single step he did forward set everything in motion though, and seemingly it all slipped his control. The boy whirled around and jumped up the ledge of the window in the matter of seconds, his legs still dangling in the air. Atemu's first instinct was to hold him back and so he hastened through the room, grabbing the bony limbs and pulling the boy back. A frightened cry came from above him, the resistance getting stronger, but still being weak enough for him to pull him back into the room easily.

Just as he thought he had him securely inside, the small hands grabbed on to the ledge of the window, refusing to let go. He could feel sobs shaking the lithe body, but what choice had he but to end what he had started?

Atemu slung one arm around the much too slim waist of the boy, holding his weight with no problem, his other hand reaching out and grabbing the hands at the window. They were cold and trembling with exhaustion and terror, as was the whole body in his arms.

"Let go." He whispered into the other's ear, noticing the bad smell coming from the stained clothes and body. If he hadn't been sure the child was homeless before, he was now. "I won't do anything, just let go."

Another sob, this time loud enough to even hear above the noise, racked the lump he had in his arms. The hands finally lost their hold on the slippery window, not because the boy did it deliberately, but because the last bit of strength he had had seemed to have left him.

So that was Yuugi, Atemu thought, pulling the boy close to himself to keep him warm. He had expected to find anything but this. Even had anticipated a good fight or at least someone having planned something against their group of teenagers. Anything but this.

With one hand he shoved the window back closed, then walked over to the mattress on the floor to set Yuugi down. With a small whimper the small form crawled away from him as far as it could, watching him out of glistering amethyst eyes.

Atemu just went on looking at him helplessly. He had no younger siblings, nor had he anything to do with kids. It was usually rather the opposite. Kids feared him and didn't come near him, which he always had been glad for.

Well, usually he was able to turn around and walk away. Now he wasn't, because the boy needed help, and he needed it badly. But who was going to do that if he didn't? His comrades downstairs? They were so drunk, they wouldn't even notice Yuugi's condition, not to speak of help him. Now he was glad he himself hadn't drunk much until now. He had planned to. What use had such parties if not to get drunk and drown all the problems?

His eyes stayed fixed on Yuugi. He didn't move, crouching like a wounded animal, his tiny arms slung around his knees, fearful eyes staring at him as if he was a predator on his heels, finally having cornered him. Tears had drawn streaks through the dirt on his cheeks, showing that his skin wasn't of the tone of dark grey but almost pale white. Too pale.

Atemu didn't dare to speak. Would Yuugi even understand him if he did? He looked like a strange creature having come from another world, not like a normal human being.

He couldn't speak. He couldn't move.

What was he supposed to do?

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Yuugi's POV:

The music was roaring in his ears, but beside that he still could hear his own heartbeat pounding against them loudly. He pressed himself against the cold wall behind him, looking over at Yami full of fear. Now that he had found him and forced him to stay, what was he going to do with him? Panic pulsed through his veins like something livid, making his blood boil. Was he going to beat him up? Or worse, was he going to present what he had found to all the other teenagers downstairs... so they could maim him and push him around, harass him... beat him... maybe even kill him in the end? He found he couldn't breathe properly anymore, all the possibilities haunting through his head. He had to get away, to flee somehow. And he would take every chance he could get. He never tore his eyes away from Yami as he made himself ready to jump to his feet and run. He knew he was exhausted, not having had much strength from the start, but still he knew the house much better than Yami did.

He began to count to three in his head, preparing his muscles to push his body up fast.

One...

Yami still didn't move in any way, staring at him mutely.

Two...

Maybe he thought about what he could do to him, he mused.

Three.

Yuugi was up on his feet in the flash of a second, running to the door as fast as he could. From the corner of his eyes he could see Yami reaching out for him and dodged, having got used to that during his trips into the city when he had to steal food. He had only survived because he was small and could slip away easily after all.

Panting he ran through the corridor into one of the deserted rooms. All the doors were open, that much he knew, so he didn't slow down, turning another corner and storming into his grandfather's bedroom. His grandpa had a backdoor here, which had been locked since he had come here. Yuugi hoped against hope that he was able to get it open, down the rusty stairs and away from the house. Yami never would be able to find him outside.

He skidded to a halt at the door, gripping the knob and turning it repeatedly. It didn't budge. He pushed harder, even slamming his shoulder against it to force it to open up, but that only caused himself pain.

The door was locked and without a key there was no chance of getting it open.

"Yuugi."

He whirled around, gasping as a strong hand grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the door. But he didn't try to fight against the grip. He felt like frozen, mind numb and body rigid.

Yami had called him 'Yuugi'.

The meaning of that fact he only slowly realised as the silence settled back between them.

He wasn't lost... he wasn't. Someone knew his name.

Yuugi stared up at Yami with a mixture of amazement and fear. Of all people Yami knew his name... whereas he had given him a false one so he had the feeling of knowing him.

Stunned and mind blank of all coherent thought he let himself be dragged out of the room by the arm and through the corridor until they reached the stairs. The smell of alcohol and cigarettes made him snap out of it though and he froze on the spot. What was Yami doing?!

Yami also stopped and turned around to him, face an emotionless mask. No sneer, but also no sign of positive affirmation showed on his features.

"Come on, let's go." He said, voice loud enough to hear over the heavy beat.

Yuugi shook his head with a frightened look, whereas an eyebrow was raised and a cool look was sent his way. Yami grabbed his hand firmly and tugged at it, causing him to stumble forward.

Then he went on down the stairs, ignoring all the kicks and punches he tried to get in. Yuugi was helpless, couldn't evade the hand holding his. He pulled as hard as he could but it was to no use. Yami had more strength and just continued walking as if nothing was wrong.

Desperately and because he knew no other way out, Yuugi leaned forward and sank his teeth into the flesh of Yami's hand. The other flinched and the hand let go, but before he could turn around and run, a hand was in his neck, gripping at his hair until the skin on his head tingled with pain. His head was turned around to Yami's, who glared at him with darkened eyes.

"Yuugi, that's enough." He was grabbed and flung over Yami's shoulder. Yuugi yelped, holding on to the other's shoulder panic-stricken. Why was Yami so much stronger than him?

He was carried all the way down the stairs, then the crowd of people came into sight. Yuugi looked back over his shoulder at all the teenagers. Curious looks were cast their way, but other than that nobody spoke to them. Until...

"Hey, pal!" The blond boy from earlier appeared in front of them, first grinning, but them looking puzzled. Yuugi swallowed, sure that hell was soon going to come upon him.

"Jou," was the only word Yami said.

"What are you doing?" The blonde came closer, avoiding the dancing people around them.

"Going home." Without further explaining Yami passed the boy named Jou. Yuugi looked at him over Yami's shoulder, seeing the hurt expression on the other's face. Despite his fear he wondered what was up with the two. And what was up with Yami. Why was he taking him... out... home? Yuugi paled. Why would someone take him home...? Yami didn't want to... no, surely not... He was small and dirty. Why would anyone rape him, of all people. But what other possibility...?

The cold air of the night touched his skin, chilling him even more.

There was no other possibility.

As they came to a halt at a row of cars, Yuugi managed to get out of his shock. He struggled, clawing at Yami's back, kicking him.

"Let me go!!" he cried, his voice now unnaturally loud in the silence. The music was nothing more than a distant rumbling in the background.

Somehow he had to flee. He always had managed to, so why not now?

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Atemu's POV:

"Just stop that, will you." Atemu tightened his grip on the boy, about to lose his nerve with him. He just wanted to help him, right? He even had abandoned the party so he could get him something decent to eat, a shower and some warm, clean clothes. Couldn't the boy see that?

With one hand he fished for his keys of his car in his pocket, the other keeping Yuugi steady on his shoulder. He found them and opened the vehicle. As he tried to put Yuugi inside though, the boy wouldn't let go of him, gripping him like he was his lifeline.

"Get in already."

"No, no...!" His wails were full of fear, desperate sobs shaking him. "I don't want to!"

Atemu sighed, stilling his efforts to get Yuugi off himself and instead turned around and sat down in the car himself, seating the boy on his lap. He was tired with the fight the homeless boy put up.

He wondered what he did wrong. Why was Yuugi crying now? He didn't understand. Shouldn't he be happy?

"Stop crying." He tried to make his voice sound comforting, but knew it hadn't worked, because Yugi sobbed louder, shivering, trembling like a leaf in icy wind. Atemu wasn't the person to comfort people. He also wasn't exactly the person to get along with other people well. He just didn't know how to react, what to say and do.

Yuugi lay limb in his arms. He felt wet tears through his clothes. At least the tears were warm. Otherwise all Yuugi had been until now was cold. Cold hands, cold body. It couldn't be healthy.

Atemu relaxed slightly, deciding to wait until Yuugi had calmed down. He just wished he could get his jacket from the back of his car. Maybe he could get a bit of warmth into the boy and himself.

Like that he waited for full twenty minutes. During these endless minutes Atemu had begun to draw slow circles on Yuugi's back, maybe just to occupy himself, maybe to comfort the crying boy. He hadn't thought about it, hadn't really realised he was doing it. A sort of shared body heat had developed between them, finally granting them a source of warmth. It was then that the sobs get less and changed into sniffs.

Still Atemu didn't dare to move, nor did he want to. It was really cold and windy and he was tired. He had been tired all day due to the lack of sleep he had got the night before. Only the wish to go home where it was warm and comfy finally was able to get him to get up.

"Can we now go?" he asked with a yawn, sitting up with the boy still leaning on his chest.

"Please, no..." Yuugi whimpered, on the verge of crying again. But Atemu had had enough.

"Why not?!" he asked impatiently, grabbing Yuugi by the shoulders and pushing him up so he could look into his eyes. "I just want to help you, what's wrong with that?!"

"You want to... what?" The boy blinked, tears getting caught in his thick lashes before rolling down his cheeks.

"Help you." Atemu growled lowly. "What else would I do with you?"

The amethyst eyes turned away from him. Atemu followed his look to the big old house. The urge to leave and let that dirty place behind got stronger. He looked back at Yuugi and, without further asking, pushed him onto the seat. He himself climbed out of the car with a shiver as the place where the boy had sat was hit by a gust of cold wind. So Yuugi could be warm after all. He shut the door and walked over to the other side of the car, getting in there. He quickly closed the door behind him.

With a last look at Yuugi, who stared outside with passive eyes, he fastened the boy's and his own belt, then started the car and drove off.

It was time he got home.

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To Be Continued... (?)

Still I don't know what to think of this story. It's just so... rushed and... um... I'm not comfortable with it. I hope you like it anyway. Now Atemu found Yuugi.

And right, there is still a lot that could happen – that is planned to happen – that will happen if I can get myself to do it. But even if some things are planned, this story I mostly think up while I write. It's fun, but also can get complicated. I don't want to stumble over my own twists... Is there anybody doing that? Just writing without planning much? I think it's difficult. (sighs)

Thank you for all the reviews, they were really nice. Here I have a cuddly Atemu and a cuddly Yuugi. Which do you want? (holds them out to the reviewers) For you!


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